We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Nas, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the rapper and record producer that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: He Almost Dissed a Lot of People. God’s Son was originally supposed to be Nas’ attempt at dissing just about every rapper in the industry at the time. However, he ended up trashing all of the songs after reconsidering.
Number Seven: He Got Too High. Nas admitted that he accidentally flubbed a lyric for his song, “The Set Up,” because he was too high.
Number Six: He Struggled to Stop Bootleggers. According to MC Serch, a garage filled with 60,000 copies of bootlegged Illmatic copies was found before the album was even released.
Number Five: He Ditched His Lexus to One-Up Somebody. Nas was driving a Lexus, but, in an effort to one-up Jay Z, he got rid of it to get a better car.
Number Four: He Met Kelis at an After Party. Nas and now ex-wife Kelis met in 2002. They met when they were at an afterparty for the MTV VMAs. The afterparty was hosted by Diddy.
Number Three: He Wrote a Line Referencing Aaliyah. In Nas’ song, “Ether,” he wrote a line that says, “It should’ve been you in that plane crash.” The “plane crash” he is referencing is referring to the one Aaliyah died in.
Number Two: He Liked to Disappear to Work. According to Carmen Bryan, who is the mother of Nas’ daughter Destiny, Nas would frequently disappear. She reportedly once found him in an apartment in Long Island surrounded by pages upon pages of rhymes.
Number One: He Is One of Rap’s Greatest Innovators. Nas is a rap genius, and he has even been called “contemporary rap’s greatest innovator in storytelling” by writer Adam Bradley. Nas has written all sorts of different styles of rap, and he continues to thrive in the industry. Here’s to your continued success, Nas!